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Fauna8
The Felayan fauna is composed of many species from many worlds which makes it very varied and unpredictable. See also carnivorous plants and plant life. These pages feature mostly dangerous or remarkable creatures. There is many many others, from small animals to harmless herbivores, or unreported species that aren't listed here but exist and are part of the great Felarya food chain. Ice terrain fauna In Imoreith Tundra Snowstalker Size: 6 feet Threat: Low alone - Medium in group Snowstalkers possess the body of a raptor and the head, back, and fins of an abyssal fish. They have powerful running legs with very sharp talons and each of their digits is webbed. This allow the snowstalker to swim, although they don't appear to be very aquatic creatures, and this feature is probably mostly vestigial. Some specimens living far from the coastal areas of Imoreith Tundra actually seem to have evolved and lost their webbing. Snowstalkers live and and hunt in packs. Despite their medium size, they are extremely aggressive and won't hesitate to attack a squad of adventurers. With their muscular legs, they can run at great speed, without making the slightest sound. Witnessing a whole pack of them moving around as silent as ghosts is a frightening sight. Taranei Size: 10 to 15 feet Threat: Very Low Taraneis are herd herbivores roaming across the Tundra searching for patches of grass and shrubs to eat. They bear a vague resemblance to Elk or Caribou, but with much taller and more slender bodies. They all have pure white coats of fur, small black eyes, six long thin legs and strange membranes attached between and amongst their large antlers. For whatever reason, these membranes somehow generate a "field of silence" around the Taranei - this is a defense mechanism to prevent predators from easily locating the herd. A herd of Taraneis, no matter how many animals are in it, will move with absolutely no noise! Some less alert adventurers have even reported suddenly being surrounded by the beasts as if they appeared out of thin air. The herds move fairly slowly in order to not miss any grass - smart adventurers will move within and with the herd, benefiting from the zone of silence as well. Nopsid Size: 12 feet Threat: Moderate Nopsids are bizarre creatures with a white bulky body and three short, thick legs to support it. They move in small groups, with quick small hops, leaping and bouncing while emitting little clicking sounds. In place of their head is a wide black circle that can produce black tentacles extending outside to catch prey and pull them back in that circle where they are absorbed. Nopsids are dangerous creatures. They hunt by releasing an extremely powerful sound wave around them, that leave an opponent or prey utterly stunned and disoriented. Those who live to tell the tale find themselves at loss of words to describe it. They speak of a wall of almost solid sound. Flat Back Frost Turtle Size: 70 to 100 feet Threat: Medium As the name suggests, the shell of this gigantic turtle looks like a large thick slab of ground covered in frost, with very tough scales protecting its sides and belly. It's a large lumbering creature often around 70 feet long and 30 feet high. It walks slowly on it's six muscular legs, and has a long neck that can stretch easily, with a head whose skull is rimmed with imposing horns. Rumor has it that under the flat slab is a tender back with gems that are embedded between the flesh and the shell. The flat back frost turtle likes to hide on the ground with its back posing as a regular ice-covered rocky surface. When prey walks over it, the creature reveal itself, standing up, stretching its neck, and tilting its shell. The prey then suddenly find itself standing on a very slippery slope and slide, just as the turtle twists its neck around in order to catch the prey in its large mouth. The creature sleeps often but an antennae-like appendage serves as a movement detector that operate during its sleep cycle, causing the beast to wake up when prey is overhead. It swallows human-sized prey whole, but is not against eating larger prey as well which it can kill by ramming or head butting. Food takes an extremely long time to fully digest and the beast has an efficient metabolism. In frost peak Snow Tiger Size: 15 feet Threat: Moderate A white fur covered tiger found mostly in the frigged Felaryan mountains. Clever and social animals, they live in clans of 3 to 7 specimens. They are very loyal to one another, but are equally distrusting of other clans. With their great strength and sharp reflexes, they are a significant threat to travelers. They are sometimes hunted for their fur, which is incredibly warm. Ice Kensha Beast Size: 35 feet Threat: Medium Kensha Beasts are one of the more dominant animal species of Felarya, and have spread to many regions, adapting to every climate. This variety is similar in many way to their forest dwelling relatives, save for their pure white fur which allows them to blend perfectly in to the snow, and add yet another element of danger. They also possess shining clear claws which are pretty valuable in jewelry making. Ice Wyrm Size: 200 to 400 feet Threat: Very High Little is know about this formidable and legendary creature. It resembles a gigantic worm, with a serpentine body and four massive armored beaks on its head, around its mouth. It moves under the earth by pushing itself along, suddenly emerging to attack. The creature possesses rows of spines on its back which it can extend to pierce a prey. Its multiple eyes ring its face and let it see in many directions at once. Its skin is pure white, with its mouth section a dark grey. The biggest specimens are said to reach double the size of a Naga, although they rarely leave the earth entirely. Ice wyrms are incredibly aggressive, and attack virtually anything. One is said to have devoured an entire small Miratan outpost once, having simply swallowed the structure whole! Their very thick skin make the use of explosives and missiles against them almost pointless. The best thing to do when encountering those formidable beasts is to run! Lermenin Size: 1 foot Threat: Minimal A small, white, furry creature, easily the cutest things in the mountain, although somewhat cranky. They are intelligent and devious little creatures, about the size of a large house cat and resembling an earth ferret in some ways. Needless to say they are at the bottom of the food chain and depend on cunning to survive. They live in small crevices in the rock too small for other creatures. It's worth noting that they love to rob travelers of interesting things such as tiny round shiny objects. In Elifga Valley Idarik Size: 4 to 9 feet Threat: Very Low Idariks are bird like creature found in Elifga Valley, the Direwind Hills, the Fairy kingdom and many areas of Deeper Felarya. It's fairly large, with a rounded body and two large wings. However, despite these, it has evolved as a flightless bird. The Idariks range in size from that of a large pig up to that of a large cow. They pose no danger at all to humans though. They have a short head with a long beak for snatching insects out of hard to reach places. Unlike most birds, it possesses four legs on it's rotund body. It can flap for a short while and, while being flightless, actually spends a good deal of it's time in trees, hopping from branches and gripping them with it's strong flexible claws. When it does walk on the ground it ends up looking fairly ridiculous, wobbling around on four legs. It is a favored food of predators and are easy to catch if one hunts during the middle of the day. Idariks are fairly lazy and good at hiding, sleeping away their mornings and afternoons. While they have good eyesight, their hearing is poor and this makes them easy to sneak up on. Bereffs Size: 10 to 17 feet Threat: Moderate Bereffs are a major predator of the waterways and ponds of the Elifga valley. It's a strange looking creature, with the bulky body of a large bear, while its head resembles most closely that of a frog, though furred like the rest of its body. The Bereff has breathing holes on top of its head and swims (or more usually, walks) through rivers keeping only the top of its head out of the water, waiting to attack prey and draw it in with its long sinuous tongue. If it can't subdue prey with this, it will smash them with its powerful front claws until they are unable to struggle and are ready to be swallowed. Credits to: *Wowandwas for the Lermenin and Snow Tiger *Randomdude for the Ice wyrm and Ice kensha *Jaette-troll for the Idariks, Taraneis and Bereffs *Archmage Bael for the Flat Back Frost Turtle *Archmage Bael for his help on writing some entries, and Oldman40k2003 and French-snack for their great help at editing. ^_^